I finally got the top windshield frame piece to replace the section my dealer mistakenly drilled through, and I want to install it myself. It looks pretty easy to swap, but I'm wondering how easy it'll be getting the rubber gasket under it realigned properly. Anyone done this themselves? Easy to do or is it a PITA to get the gasket installed right again? If it's the latter, I'll let the dealer do it at next service.

milkmania

11-01-2006, 06:28 PM

dang man, IF I had something that was under warranty, you could bet your butt the dealer would be doing it! :twocents:

but then again, that's why you are replacing the windshield:rolleyes:

Archimedes

11-01-2006, 06:34 PM

Not a warranty issue, a screw up issue. If they weren't 3 hours away, I probably would make them do it and pay for the part. But that's a long story I'm trying to forget. My boat's almost repaired to the way it should have been the day I picked it up. Looking forward to making believe it's a new boat come spring time.

east tx skier

11-01-2006, 06:55 PM

Probably not the same, but my dealer was smart enough to check the clearance before drilling my rather slim windshield frame for a mirror bracket. After learning that clearnance was slim to none, they then discovered that they had to take out that entire side of the windshield to get it to all go back together properly. May be unique to my situation, but worth considering. Tooke them hours. They honored the $20 estimate to install the bracket even though they weren't able to do it.

Archimedes

11-01-2006, 07:08 PM

All I'm doing is replacing the top portion of the port side frame with a new piece. The section is pre drilled so it looks like a simple matter of unscrewing the existing section and screwing down the new one. The wild card is how the rubber gasket is going to behave once I get the old one off. Murphy's law says it's gonna unseat itself and be a biatch to get realigned.

east tx skier

11-02-2006, 12:10 PM

All they did was pull the top frame up a little to look underneath at the clearance between the glass and the frame. When they tried to put it back, they couldn't get it in right without removing the entire left side of the windshield (two sections). Again, the frame is different on your boat, but figured it was worth mentioning that it might turn out to be more than just unscrewing the frame.

Archimedes

11-02-2006, 12:16 PM

That's my fear. But I've already shelled out $100 simoleans for the frame piece and would like to avoid paying the dealer another $100 to install it. Maybe a couple a beers tonight will clear my head and allow me to see the proper path to take...

east tx skier

11-02-2006, 01:21 PM

That's why I got a firm estimate up front. $20 to install the mirror. When it turned into a fiasco, I was thankful that I got the quote ahead of time.

pklake

11-02-2006, 04:56 PM

I replaced my winshield with new frame and window. Very easy to do and the gasket hiding all the bottom screws went right back in, no problem along with the gasket underneath. The issue for me was that the holes predrilled in the new windshield did not line up with holes in the hull. I would suggest just drilling new holes in the windshield frame instead of new holes in the hull.

Rich_G

11-02-2006, 07:37 PM

Archimedes, I am pretty sure my 99 has the same basic windshield frame. After you're done, can you tell me how much clearance there is from the top of the glass to the top edge of the frame? Just in general terms..., I mean does the glass go all the way up in there or just barely?

As I posted on another thread, I'm looking at adding a bimini bracket on the windshield frame. Not much in the way of assistance on your project, but I maybe I can return the favor someday. Thanks

Archimedes

11-02-2006, 07:45 PM

I'll let you know what I find if I tackle this myself. Given the fact that my dealer was able to mount a mirror on it, I'm guessing you can mount the bimini attachment as well. The mirror mounting plates looked similar to the bimini mount plates that I had on my 94.

east tx skier

11-03-2006, 11:31 AM

I'll let you know what I find if I tackle this myself. Given the fact that my dealer was able to mount a mirror on it, I'm guessing you can mount the bimini attachment as well. The mirror mounting plates looked similar to the bimini mount plates that I had on my 94.

In the past, i.e., early 90s, there was more clearance at the frame on the sides of the boat where you would mount a bimini than at the top where you would mount a mirror. Still, there's not a lot of clearance. On the newer boats, there is probably more all the way around.